Federal judge Esther Salas has been motivated by the memory of her son to fight for a new state law in New Jersey to protect public officials after her only child was murdered by a gunman at her family’s home last year.
House Bill 230 is such a bill. It will seek to protect judges and their families from right wing terrorist attacks upon them by allowing judicial officers to make a written request to government agencies that their personal information not be published and remain confidential.
The bill passed the House and Senate unanimously, with only Representative Melissa Minor-Brown being absent.
State Representative Krista Griffith: “Judges play a unique and vital role in the administration of justice. When carrying out their public duties, judicial officers must be able to act without fear of personal reprisal from individuals affected by the decisions they make. In recent years, as a result of the rise in the use of social media and online access to information, judicial officers across the country have been exposed to an increasing number of personal threats. Nearly one year ago, a New Jersey federal judge was the target of these threats when an assailant went to her home and killed her son and seriously wounded her husband. In response to the continuous rise of threats against judicial officers, there is an immediate need to protect their privacy.
I am pleased to report that legislation I drafted to protect the privacy of Delaware judicial officers passed the Judiciary Committee last week and now heads to the House floor for a vote.”
| House Bill 230 Sponsors | Yes Votes | No Votes |
| Griffith, Bush, Heffernan, Dorsey Walker, Baumbach, Brady, K.Johnson, Lynn, Minor-Brown, Osienski, K.Williams, D.Short | House Passes 40-0-1. Baumbach Bennett Bentz Bolden Brady Bush Carson Chukwuocha Cooke Dorsey-Walker Griffith Heffernan K.Johnson K.Williams Kowalko Lambert Longhurst Lynn Matthews Mitchell Morrison Osienski S.Moore Schwartzkopf Wilson-Anton Briggs King Collins D.Short Dukes Gray Hensley M.Smith Morris Postles Ramone Shupe Smyk Spiegelman Vanderwende Yearick | Minor-Brown (Absent) |
| Gay, Brown, Hansen, Lockman, Mantzavinos, S.McBride, Sokola, Paradee, Townsend, Walsh, Hocker, Lopez | Senate Passes 21-0. Brown Ennis Gay Hansen Lockman Mantzavinos Paradee Pinkney Poore S.McBride Sokola Sturgeon Townsend Walsh Bonini Hocker Lawson Lopez Pettyjohn Richardson Wilson | |
| Current Status: | Sent to the Governor |
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